Restoration Project Photo Essay Page 202 - Piano Promo … Photo Set 15.pdf · Restoration Project Photo Essay Page 203 Photo 399: The sticker cloth is cut off of the bottom of the

Restoration Project Photo Essay

Page 202

Photo 397: A new pile of work is ready for me to dive into. The whippens, removed from the action when it was

disassembled and piled in a heap, have not been touched since.

Photo 398: The first stage to the process of revitalizing the whippens is to set up a work area. The scrap piece of

pinblock material will serve as a cutting board to use in slicing off the old felt of each whippen.


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Photo 399: The sticker cloth is cut off of the bottom of the sticker using a sharp chisel in a swivel motion with the

point firmly planted in the chopping block.

Photo 400: The backcheck felt is also removed using the chisel. The flat side of the chisel stays toward the wooden

backcheck to prevent gouging.


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Photo 401: Glue and felt adhering to the wooden backcheck are scrapped off leaving a clean surface to glue new

backcheck felt onto.

Photo 402: A broken jack spring signals the necessity to replace the entire set of springs. Once a particular part

start breaking, total replacement of that part is the best course of action to avoid problems down the road.


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Photo 403: By placing each whippen in the vise, and using a pair of needle nose pliers, the old springs are

extracted. The bottom coil of each spring rests in a well. The original springs are ordinarily glued into place. The

old glue in this case is brittle, and the springs break loose easily.

Photo 404: A jack spring hole reamer attached to an electric drill makes short work of cleaning out well.


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Photo 405: The well cleaned and ready for a new spring.

Photo 406: Before anything new is added, however, a burnishing of the bridle strap wires with a miniature wire

brush in a Dremel tool is done as a final touch in the cleaning up process.


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Photo 407: Modern art. If this were 20 feet across, signed by Pablo Picasso and hanging in an art gallery, it would

be worth millions. I've obviously missed my calling in life.

Photo 408: The whippens, now on the opposite side of the bench, are now stripped clean and ready for refelting.


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Photo 409: The hot glue, which has been on for some time, is checked for the correct degree of runniness.

Constant monitoring is required to keep the glue at the optimum consistency. The addition of a little water, or a

few glue crystals are needed from time to time.

Photo 410: The bottom coil of the jack spring is swabbed with hot glue.


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Photo 411: The bottom coil of the spring is then inserted into the well.

Photo 412: The whippens are then placed on a rack with the springs straight up and down while the glue cools and

cures.


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Photo 413: Remaining vestiges of stubborn dirt around the bridle wire and the backcheck wire is removed with a

stiff bristle brush.

Photo 414: Dag® 154 Graphite lubricant is applied with an artist brush to the nose of each jack. This aids in the

free functioning of the jack as it propels the hammer towards the strings. At the last moment before the hammer

makes impact, the jack slips out from the hammer butt buckskin, so that the hammer strikes the strings under its

own momentum.


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Photo 415: The heel of each jack is likewise lubricated with Dag, so that it slips freely from under the regulating

button once contact is made.

Photo 416: Newly coated with Dag, the whippens are placed back in the rack to dry once again.


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Photo 417: Backcheck cloth is cut from precut strips.

Photo 418: Each backcheck is coated with hot glue.


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Photo 419: The backcheck cloth is positioned and held firmly in place for several seconds.

Photo 420: A miniature clamp is then applied with a small rectangle of veneer used to even out the pressure over

the length of the cloth.


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Photo 421: For one final time, the whippens are returned to the drying rack to allow the glue to cure.

Photo 422: The last two pieces of felt are made ready. The brown sticker cloth is razor cut from a long roll. The

hammer butt felts for the topside of the jacks comes precut.


Photo 423: A square of sticker cloth is glued with hot glue to the bottom of the sticker. This is the contact point

between the brass capstan at the back of the key and the whippen.

Photo 424: The final piece of felt to be replaced is the square of hammer butt felt which is glued to the topside of

the jack.

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Photo 425: The next order of business is to slice the old felt punchings off of the regulating buttons of the let-off

rail with a sharp chisel. A light sanding with 100 grit paper finishes this job.

Photo 426: Once the punchings are removed, the rail itself is cleaned with a stiff brush.

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Photo 427: New punchings are glued into place with hot glue.

Photo 428: The newly refelted let-off rail.

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Photo 429: The flange screws used to attached the whippens to the action are now polished on the wire wheel. My

daughter, volunteering to help, took each screw from its numbered hole in the screw holder, polished them, and

tossed them in the lid of a jelly jar. Ah, well. Never criticize your children for being helpful.

Photo 430: The whippens are laid out on the bench in the correct order for reattachment.

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Photo 431: The jack is held open . . .

Photo 432: . . .and slid into the action on the front side of the main action rail, while the whippen flange goes in

behind it.

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Photo 433: Leaning over the top of the action to start the screw for the whippen flange works well.

Photo 434: The sticker flange screw is inserted into the lower action rail.

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Photo 435: The jack spring is compressed slightly with a pair of needle nose pliers, so that its upper coil may be

inserted into the well on the bottom of the heel of the jack.

Photo 436: The tab on each bridal strap is inserted onto the bridal wire with one hand, while a finger of the

other hand trips the jack so that it's in the correct position.

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Photo 437: The bridal wire is bent slightly to the front or to the back in order to produce just a bit of clearance

between the nose of the jack and the hammer butt buckskin.

Photo 438: With the whippens all reinstalled, the action is returned to the piano for the time being.

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This just won't do at all.

With the installation of the whippens a done deal, my attention will next turn to the keys. They

are, to put it mildly, in sorry condition. Capstans will be removed and polished, and new

molded keytops and new bushings will be installed, but only after a thorough cleaning of each

keystick to eliminate all traces of the mouse colony which spent so many years traipsing up and

down on top and underneath the keys. Not the most pleasant of jobs, I will assure you, but one

that must be attended to and quickly, in that only nine short days remain before the piano is

scheduled to be picked up. Yikes! Pass me the Mountain Dew! I need a shot of caffeine!

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Restoration Project Photo Essay Page 202 - Piano Promo … Photo Set 15.pdf · Restoration Project Photo Essay Page 203 Photo 399: The sticker cloth is cut off of the bottom of the